I have (with your help)narrowed down the wine situation. The brands are self explanatory. I’m trying to avoid huge waste of opened bottles that aren’t consumed. Our bar is completely open so if we had it behind the bar they could get a glass or a bottle if they wanted. We are having a casual, buffet style wedding of roast beef and herb roast chicken.

I’ve been to a lot of weddings with open bars — my own included — and I’ve never had a bottle of wine at my table. I think it’s totally fine to have it behind the bar. That’s where people are going to expect to go for drinks! 🙂

Apothic, because although I would typically pick cab, I’m not familiar with wine from BC and prefer CA wines for obvious reasons… (I go to Napa and Sonoma on a regular basis). Plus a $10 cab is scary… I typically buy cabs between $20 and $80 depending on how fancy dinner will be.

While I like Apothic Red, I HATE Apothic White- it’t a blend, but it tastes like it’s mostly moscato, which is so ridiculously sweet, it really won’t go with what you’re serving.

The Cab will be great with beef, and the pinot grigio is a much better white, no matter what it tastes like.

I would serve them from behind the bar because it will be more efficient (less waste, bottle-wise, so less $$), and will make people think more about whether they really want more to drink. Like you said, if they want a bottle, they can have it. They can also keep the white cold behind the bar.

ETA: I really don’t think that cabernet will be any good- would it be possible to get the Apothic Red as your red, and then the other as your white? Are there any other options? I asked my caterer for other options outside the list, and she had some for me. I ended up with Kenwood Cabernet and Canyon Road Pinot Grigio (which was cheap and actually good)

@dontknowwhattodo: it’s THAT cab- it has really awful reviews from what I saw online. Apothic Red really is fine- it’ll appeal to a lot of people. I REALLY wouldn’t go for the white though. My best suggestion is for you to go to the store, get a few bottles, have a few people over, and have a wine tasting. I think cabernet and pinot grigio is the best mix, by the way, unless you go for the apothic. Try it, though- I served it once without trying it, and no one even finished a glass. It was really not great, and especially not with chicken.

What is the price range you’re looking to stay within per bottle? I have a few (novice) suggestions of things you can try, and I’m sure tons of other bees will, too. For cheap white wine, I’ve always been pretty happy with Cupcake (california), plus the bottles are cute. If you did end up going with a sweeter white, there is a German Riesling called “petals” that is really good. It’s on the sweeter side, but not nearly as sweet as Moscato.